Covering the WestSide as it is today and Challenging everyone to become involve as we move into the future.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Yes Virginia, If Something Cost Six Cents There Is A Tax!

Have you ever gone to a party or event and enjoyed yourself so much that later on, when talking to others about the same event, you are shocked to learn that so much other stuff occurred at the same time? Stuff you weren't even aware of? For example, I was reminiscing about a previous family reunion with my cousin when he told me of some things that occurred during the party.

I was shocked that I had been completely unaware of some of the drama others had pulled while I sat in a corner enjoying myself with other relatives, completely oblivious to our surroundings. I feel that this is the same thing that happened Tuesday with many of us in Chicago. There is so much euphoria over President Barack Obama's inauguration that we are blinded to some of the things our local politicians have been up to-like with our mayor and his city council. They recently voted to make us, the taxpayers, liable for the 2016 Olympic bid and all the costs associated with it.

Those costs will include added police protection, streets and sanitation maintenance, and who knows what other services. This is the same city that just told you it didn't have enough money to plow snowy side streets until someone whispered in the mayor's ear and reminded him that former mayor Michael Bilandic lost a re-election bid because of snow. So, after promising that his desire wouldn't affect the average taxpayer's pocketbook, our current mayor and his aldermen have now placed us on the hook for the cost of his Olympic dream. Costs from overruns that will surely come from the 2016 Olympics the majority of us never told him we wanted in the first place.

Over the past decade, the mayor has privatized everything he could, claiming it would save the taxpayers money. The schools lost cafeteria workers as food handling was outsourced to his suburban buddies. Still, the budget increased. The mayor has leased the Skyway, all the city's parking garages, destroyed Meigs Field and leased Midway airport. Most recently, he's leased the city's parking meters and still the budget has a shortfall.

But as the mayor has deemed his legacy incomplete without an Olympic event, amazingly, there is money to be found for it. Money hidden away in TIF (tax increment financing) funds that can legally be transferred from one city parcel to the next if they are linked. Most of those links are done by drawing a "TIF" line down the middle of the street. So TIF monies paid in Austin are transferred to TIF districts downtown.

One bit of good news is something that didn't happen. In a desperate move to find any new source of revenue that he could tax, the mayor lost his bid to levy your satellite dishes. Apparently, the federal government is not too keen on allowing cities to tax broadcast satellite services. Yeah! But had he been successful, you would have received a new tax bill owed to the city for 9 percent of your satellite cable bill. This is one of the few times your mayor failed to dig deeper into your pockets to take your last dime, and maybe even some of the lint coating in it as well.

Even our beloved county board finds itself in the news. Those commissioners just last year voted to make our sales taxes the highest in the country. Meanwhile, they make $85,000 a year in salary for a job that's more part time than that of an alderman. And they have a sweet little perk-an additional $1200 a month to cover out-of-pocket expenses.

But guess what? They barely document what they use that money for, but when given the chance recently to show some frugality with our tax dollars, they avoided that responsibility by failing to pass a county board motion to abolish the perk. Ain't they sweet? Should we be sensitive to how we are taxed? Hell yeah we should. I recently bought one single hex nut at Home Depot to replace a missing bolt on my snow-blower. The hexnut cost six cents. Then the register added a penny for sales tax.

Yes, the Barack Obama inauguration party is fun and we enjoyed ourselves. But don't party so hard that you're not paying attention to the separate parties our mayor and country board commissioners are having. They are all up for reelection soon-the county board in 2010 and the mayor and aldermen the following year. Let us take Barack Obama's message of change and apply it to them.

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Arlene Jones

EMAIL ME: WESTSIDE2DAY@YAHOO.COM

Arlene Jones' Biography

I was born in Chicago. I grew up in Cabrini Green. I attended Wells Sr High, the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle where I majored in Spanish and minored in Education. I have a diploma in Computer Programming.

I moved to Austin when I purchased a home here. I have two children.

I have been active in the community since moving here. I started with my blockclub. In the early 1990s, I worked with several people to try and form the North Austin Homeowners Association. I even went on patrol with a group of people who had a walkie talkie car patrol of the neighborhood.

As with most programs in the AA community, many factors led to the demise of those groups. Lack of support from elected officials was at the top of the list.

There were several people who had a group and we met out of DaVinci Manor. DaVinci Manor was at the corner of North Ave and Central where Walgreen now stands. Again there was very little interest in saving that building and our community lost a beautiful hall.

I have protested the state of the Central Ave bridge. I worked with Leola Spann and did many a smoke out including one in the 1500 block of North Lorel where drug paraphenalia layed on the ground. I have over the years here in Austin worked with the following groups at one point or another:
Northeast Austin Organization (Mary Volpe, Tom Hosea);
Northwest Austin Council;
Mad Dads;
Brotherhood of Black Men;
Westside Health Authority;
Nobel Neighbors;
Every Block A Village;
Beat 2532;
25th District Housing Committee;
WVON Volunteer;
African American Employees at the Merchandise Mart (AAEMM);
Lafollette Park Advisory Council;
Garfield Park Conservatory Advisory Council;
Westside Executive Advisory Council;
Austin Landmark Cultural Center;
Concerned Citizens of East Garfield Park

and so many others that it gets hard to remember.

Arlene Jones

QUOTE OF THE DAY

If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. -- Malcolm X